AirMagnet Survey vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG comparison

AirMagnet Survey and NetAlly EtherScope nXG are both solutions in the Network Troubleshooting category. AirMagnet Survey is ranked #8 with an average rating of 7.0, while NetAlly EtherScope nXG is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.2. AirMagnet Survey holds a 6.5% mindshare in NT, compared to NetAlly EtherScope nXG’s 13.9% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of AirMagnet Survey users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NetAlly EtherScope nXG users who would recommend it.

AirMagnet Survey

Read 39 AirMagnet Survey reviews

389 Views
210 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Read 23 NetAlly EtherScope nXG reviews

4,346 Views
571 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

AirMagnet Survey

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 11, 2024

AirMagnet Survey and NetAlly EtherScope nXG are prominent tools in the network survey and analysis domain. NetAlly EtherScope nXG seems to have the upper hand due to its advanced feature set and robust performance capabilities.

Features: AirMagnet Survey is noted for detailed wireless site survey capabilities, ease of use, and comprehensive data analysis. NetAlly EtherScope nXG offers powerful multi-functional network analysis, comprehensive diagnostics, and robust performance capabilities.

Room for Improvement: AirMagnet Survey users indicate the need for better integration options, faster processing speeds, and a more intuitive interface. NetAlly EtherScope nXG users suggest improvements in software updates, occasional stability issues, and enhanced reporting features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AirMagnet Survey has a straightforward installation process but some users mention a steep learning curve. NetAlly EtherScope nXG is easy to deploy and comes with responsive customer support.

Pricing and ROI: AirMagnet Survey is considered budget-friendly, offering good value for its price. NetAlly EtherScope nXG is costlier but is perceived to deliver higher ROI due to its extensive features, with most users justifying the investment by its performance and capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed AirMagnet Survey vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG Report (Updated: October 2024).

Buyer's Guide

AirMagnet Survey vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG

October 2024

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Categories and Ranking

AirMagnet Survey

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

8th

Average Rating

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Modeling and Simulation (2nd)

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

1st

Average Rating

8.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Diagnostics (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of AirMagnet Survey is 6.5%, up from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetAlly EtherScope nXG is 13.9%, down from 15.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Troubleshooting

Featured Reviews

David Olofson

Manager at DD&P Services LLC

Oct 12, 2022

It fixes so many problems quickly that we don't regret spending more on high-end tools than most companies

It would be nice to have some more training resources for younger techs. We can use them if we need some assistance, but that usually requires one of us who knows what we're doing to calibrate the programs properly. There's one thing our nXG handhelds do that AirMagnet doesn't do out of the box. The nXG devices can analyze the wired and wireless networks simultaneously and map the networks out. We find it handy. However, if I have that plugged into our older OptiView XG tablets or our laptops, I have no way to analyze both the WiFi and the wired network at the same time and build a single picture with all that data. So far, that's something only our nXG handhelds can do. It would be nice if there were a way to integrate all the network discovery, troubleshooting, and mapping of the WiFi and the wired at the same time. There are almost no products that do that currently. If they managed to do that, they'd probably open up their market pretty quickly.

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Doug Dickerson

Manager at Northwestern

Mar 2, 2022

Handheld form factor, intuitive interface that is easy to use, helps us quickly troubleshoot network problems

It would be helpful if this product interfaced with AirWave. The battery life should be improved. The real negative to the product is the horrible battery life. We had hoped for it to be able to deliver configurations to our network switches, and I think they're developing something for that. However, it doesn't do that now. We were hoping that we would, as we replace or refresh network components, be able to use this tool to push a config file to the switch. For example, the Aruba switches that we're deploying come with a Bluetooth function where we can push configs from our phones. It would be much more convenient to use this device, rather than using our personal cell phones to do it. I think that the capability is there, but it just hasn't been figured out yet.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Customer service is great."

"We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks."

"The most valuable feature is the predictive survey. The antennas' RF patterns are reflected correctly on the drawing when preparing predictive heat maps."

"The most valuable features are the survey, spectrum analysis, and reporting."

"The heat maps are quite good, and some features are easy to use."

"The benefit is with the ease of use of the software, I am able to show the customer, "Here is what your wireless coverage looks like." It is set up in a fashion that non-technical people can understand it."

"Clear and easy to use maps."

"The AirMagnet Survey allows you to see the list of APs in the live view. It only supports certain adapters, which can be limiting, but it's also beneficial because these adapters are more comparable to real-life devices like laptops. With Ekahau, Sidekick needs to be used for full features, but I find the Sidekick too strong, which can hamper results. Therefore, I prefer AirMagnet's approach because the adapters provide more realistic readings."

More AirMagnet Survey pros

"The wireless aspect of it has been super valuable. The AirMagnet Survey feature is very useful for site surveys. For a long time, it used to be done on laptops, and now, we can do this simply on a handheld with one technician. The data automatically gets uploaded to the cloud so that our more experienced technicians can review the data and pull it into AirMagnet. This feature has saved tons of time. It's not easy to approximate the time saved, but for each survey, I'm taking a junior technician and getting him to do a role that a senior technician used to do. So, there is a cost-saving of at least 50%."

"The most valuable part is absolutely being able to assess existing WiFi networks quickly. You get very powerful details of networks, details that you couldn't see unless you had multiple pieces of software and hardware. This does it all in one thing."

"Another good thing I really liked was that it would not only tell me the IP address, but it would tell me more info. It would grab the CDP off of the CDP profile and read all the info it could get, so I knew what I was looking at."

"I love the AutoTest feature... AutoTest allows us to find out what port it is on the switch and to trace it back to a particular patch panel. We can then document it, if necessary, or use that information for connecting a device or for re-VLANing a switch to the appropriate VLAN."

"The most valuable features are LANBERT, Discovery, and AirMapper. AirMapper is the best. Both Discovery and AirMapper are very easy to use because you can view all the problems on a single screen. If you quickly need more details about your network, then AirMapper is the best."

"In terms of the solution's full line rate 10-gigabit capability, my other 10 Gb test equipment is much bigger, bulkier, and heavier. One of my ways of assessing the nXG was to compare it with what I knew to be tried and true on 10-gig to make sure that they matched, and they did. It very quickly got my trust. The fact that it can do 10 Gb, without dropping a packet from what I've seen so far — and we used it a lot in that first three months — tells a pretty good story."

"The whole product is valuable because it's really a bunch of features that make up the one testing utility. Between auto tests, wireless assessments, its ability to do iPerf speed and traffic testing, as well as packet captures — all of those really contribute to a very successful product and allow me to do my job in a better manner."

"It clearly depicts the information we're looking for on a 10Gig testing, and we can also verify 100Gig links with it between our routing sites."

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG pros

Cons

"It'd be nice if it was cheaper, however, you get value for your money."

"But it's definitely a more expensive solution than other ones."

"The surveying features are in need of improvement, along with general usability."

"Less time consumed doing the real surveys."

"AirMagnet Survey needs to support Wi-Fi 6E otherwise they can lose to the competition. They also need to allow better grouping of SSIDs to one AP, removing the need to filter manually. At the moment, you can filter by channel or SSID, but grouping all those SSIDs together is a difficult task."

"AirMagnet Survey doesn't cover certain devices in the system."

"When you conduct an active survey and then want to use it for design work, it's actually not very useful."

"The throughput should be more advanced in the future. They need to add more versions of WiFi than just one."

More AirMagnet Survey cons

"NetAlly doesn't have a spectrum analyzer. I have to use other tools to view the spectrum, and this is a problem."

"There is room for improvement in the battery life and price."

"The one thing that it doesn't do well, when it's doing airtime utilization measurements, is that it will classify things as non-802.11, and that isn't correct. What it could do better is make sure that it classifies all traffic that's in the air correctly."

"AirMapper is very quick and easy once everything is on there, but I would like to see an improvement on how you get things on there. Currently, rather than being able to build up buildings or a site of things, every map is an individual piece. We should be able to set up an AirMapper survey easily and more effectively. At the moment, we just have separate floor plans. It'd be great to be able to build a building and tell where different floors are so that if it hears an AP on the floor below, it doesn't put two APs, one on that floor and one on the other floor, and it knows that there are two floors here. One is on top of the other, and it won't put the AP at both places. It would put it on one of the floors where it would be strongest. This would be one of the biggest improvements."

"One point of contention might be that when we were starting it up for the first time, there was a little bit of confusion about registration and getting the proper support plans applied. So, that could be more streamlined, but that's not uncommon in the industry."

"There are some inconsistencies in how it uploads the test results to the cloud, but it might just need a minor improvement on the software side. When you don't have an internet connection on the EtherScope when you do the testing, it saves the results into memory. When it has an internet connection, it uploads those results, but it doesn't work all the time. Sometimes, you need to manually push it."

"We have had to use a battery pack unit, bringing it with us, when we are doing long testing or a lot of testing. It is like a mini computer, so it does use a lot of battery life."

"The reporting could be better, with more accurate measurements of loss over cables, impedance, etc. The mapping also needs to be improved. You should be able to do free formatting of the topology."

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing needs improvement."

"The moment we began needing more of the vendor's support, the cost became very high; we switched to another solution."

"This product is very expensive."

"There is an annual cost of the solution. There are some additional charges, such as support and maintenance."

"The tool's pricing is medium."

"The licensing of AirMagnet Survey is different when compared to Ekahu. It is a third of the cost of Ekahau but there are no dedicated laptops to the Sidekick. AirMagnet allows you to license an adapter and share that adapter."

"For technical support, you need an annual license, but it is not worth it."

"It's very expensive. I wish I could buy a few more and give them to all the people who could use it, or perhaps send it to a client, given that some of its features are easy to use. But sending something worth $8,000 or $9,000 is nerve-racking. It would be nice that if it were a lot less expensive."

"If we were to purchase separate meters to do similar things, it would be double or triple the cost for us to have each toolkit available. Being a small business, putting that much money on a single truck is not cost-effective. Instead, we could put the analyzer, network heat map, and cable tester all in one meter. That is why we went for it."

"Depending on the company, it could be somewhat costly. But just two of these devices can save you thousands upon thousands of dollars."

"It is relatively high-priced and it should certainly not get any more expensive. I would like it to be $1,000 less, and I think everyone would say that. And of course, maintenance is also a recurring cost."

"It's the best 10Gig network tester for the price on the market."

"It is worth it. The cost benefit of Link-Live is massive because it is included with the cost of the device and the licensing. A lot of people miss that part of it. It is not just the device that you get but it is the ability to look at all of that data later on. You're not having to do all of that on the device. You can just be there, use the device, and then look at the data from the comfort of your office or home afterward."

"We paid for the additional maintenance on it (for an extra year) to get that extra coverage. This was the first time that we had this solution in-house, and it was pretty pricey. So, we wanted to make sure that anything went wrong, then we could get it repaired."

"As a business owner, it was a high price. However, it was well worth it. We have gotten our money out of it and continue to get our money out of it. For the price and usability, it is definitely worth it. The Wi-Fi survey capabilities alone justifies the price. Having all the other tools in it really adds to that."

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Educational Organization

11%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

18%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AirMagnet Survey?

We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks.

See all answers

What needs improvement with AirMagnet Survey?

AirMagnet Survey needs to support Wi-Fi 6E otherwise they can lose to the competition. They also need to allow better grouping of SSIDs to one AP, removing the need to filter manually. At the momen...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for AirMagnet Survey?

We use AirMagnet Survey, for site verifications after the wireless system has been installed. We conduct pre and post-install surveys with it. We have reduced the use since now our customers requir...

See all answers

What do you like most about NetAlly EtherScope nXG?

Being able to do a Wi-Fi walk-around survey with a handheld tool is one of the most valuable features of NetAlly EtherScope nXG.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetAlly EtherScope nXG?

In terms of pricing, EtherScope isn't cheap. It's a significant investment, and not a budget option.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetAlly EtherScope nXG?

The main area for improvement that stands out is the lack of a microburst dashboard, which some other vendors offer. However, NetAlly has carved out its niche by focusing on comprehensive network a...

See all answers

Comparisons

Ekahau Site Survey vs AirMagnet Survey

Compared 82% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs AirMagnet Survey

Compared 4% of the time

iBwave Wi-Fi vs AirMagnet Survey

Compared 4% of the time

AirCheck G3 vs AirMagnet Survey

Compared 3% of the time

Wireshark vs AirMagnet Survey

Compared 2% of the time

More AirMagnet Survey Competitors

LinkRunner vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Compared 61% of the time

AirCheck G3 vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Compared 14% of the time

LinkSprinter vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Compared 13% of the time

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AirMagnet Survey

November 2024

Download AirMagnet Survey product report

Buyer's Guide

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

October 2024

Download NetAlly EtherScope nXG product report

Also Known As

No data available

EtherScope nXG, EtherScope, netAlly EtherScope, OptiView XG

Learn More

NetAlly

Overview

AirMagnet Survey PRO enables network professionals to design, deploy, and validate Wi-Fi 6 networks for optimal performance, security, and compliance. It also calculates the ideal quantity, placement, and configuration of APs for a successful wireless LAN deployment. AirMagnet Survey PRO goes beyond simply verifying RF coverage by plotting actual end-user network performance in terms of connection speed, throughput, and packet statistics by allowing you to use any Wi-Fi adapter or AirMapper™ Site Survey on the AirCheck™ G2 and EtherScope® nXG. Survey PRO helps you get Wi-Fi installations right the first time, preventing costly rework and user complaints.

Multi-technology, all-in-one handheld network tester that enables engineers and technicians to get more done faster, from deployment to maintenance and documentation of their ever-changing Wi-Fi and Ethernet access networks.

The Etherscope nXG is the the industry’s first handheld analyzer for Wi-Fi 6/6E surveying (with AirMapper™ Site Survey), troubleshooting, and analysis.

Sample Customers

Houston Methodist Hospital, Love's Travel Stops

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

AirMagnet Survey vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG

October 2024

Free Report: AirMagnet Survey vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Find out what your peers are saying about AirMagnet Survey vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.

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